L&E Globalhttp://leglobal.org
An Alliance of Employers' Counsel WorldwideFri, 22 Sep 2017 12:59:12 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.8.2European Court Rules on Employee Monitoring Programs and Privacyhttp://leglobal.org/news/2017/09/22/european-court-rules-on-employee-monitoring-programs-and-privacy/
http://leglobal.org/news/2017/09/22/european-court-rules-on-employee-monitoring-programs-and-privacy/#respondFri, 22 Sep 2017 12:54:54 +0000http://leglobal.org/?p=6648The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) issued its decision in the case of Bărbulescu v. Romania (application no. 61496/08) on September 5, an appeal from a determination by the Romanian courts upholding an employee’s termination for personal use of the employer’s computer system.

The Court held that the Romanian courts violated Article 8 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms in failing to establish the relevant facts and perform an adequate balancing exercise between the applicant’s right to respect for his private life and correspondence and the employer’s interests. While the Convention does not apply directly to employers, the effect of the decision is that disciplinary actions in European Union countries based on personal use of company electronic media will be vulnerable if the facts do not satisfy the balancing considerations outlined by the Court.

Background
Bogdan Bărbulescu, a citizen of Romania, worked for a private company in Bucharest. In 2007, the company requested that Bărbulescu establish a Yahoo Messenger account for the specific purpose of responding to client inquiries. In July 2007, the company informed Bărbulescu that it had been monitoring his Yahoo Messenger account and that its records indicated he had been using the account for personal use. Bărbulescu denied the personal use, but when confronted with proof, including chat transcripts with his brother and fiancée on personal matters, he claimed invasion of privacy. Shortly after, his employment was terminated.

Bărbulescu challenged his termination in the Romanian courts, where his case was dismissed.

Eventually, Bărbulescu’s case reached the Chamber of the ECHR, a seven-judge panel, on the issue of whether the company’s monitoring of its employees violated Article 8 of the Convention, which requires respect for an individual’s private and family life, home, and correspondence. The Chamber, in a 6-1 decision, held that, although Article 8 was applicable, it had not been violated because Bărbulescu had not explained why his Yahoo Messenger account was being used for personal purposes and nothing indicated that the Romanian courts failed to strike a proper balance. “It is not unreasonable for an employer to want to verify that the employees are completing their professional tasks during their working hours,” the Chamber observed.

Grand Chamber Decision
The Grand Chamber, the appellate division of the ECHR, overturned the Chamber’s decision. In an 11-6 ruling, the 17-judge panel concluded that member states have a positive obligation under Article 8. This obligation requires national authorities to confirm that employers with an employee monitoring system also are implementing “adequate and sufficient” safeguards.

The Grand Chamber advised national authorities to consider the following criteria (PDF) when assessing an employer’s monitoring system:

Whether the employee has been notified of the possibility that the employer might take measures to monitor correspondence and other communications.

The extent of the monitoring by the employer and the degree of intrusion into the employee’s privacy.

Whether the employer has provided legitimate reasons to justify monitoring the communications and accessing their actual content.

Whether it would have been possible to establish a monitoring system based on less intrusive methods and measures than directly accessing the content of the employee’s communications.

The consequences of the monitoring for the employee concerned and the use made by the employer of the results of the monitoring operation.

Whether the employee has been provided with adequate safeguards, especially when the employer’s monitoring operations are of an intrusive nature.

The Grand Chamber’s decision in Bărbulescu highlights that it can be lawful to monitor an employee’s communications, but that must be done with deference to the factors set forth above.

The employer must ensure that it provides clear advance notification of its policies on personal use of company electronic facilities and its reservation of the right to monitor the employee’s use and to access communications. Monitoring also should be proportionate to the needs of the investigation and sensitive to unnecessary intrusion on privacy.

It is important to remember that national law can provide additional protections to employee’s use of company facilities beyond the standards outlined in the Court’s decision.

We can expect further refinements as this area of the law continues to change with advancements in monitoring technology.

]]>http://leglobal.org/news/2017/09/22/european-court-rules-on-employee-monitoring-programs-and-privacy/feed/0Harmers wins the Lawyers Weekly 2017 Australian Law Awardshttp://leglobal.org/news/2017/09/07/harmers-wins-australian-law-awards/
http://leglobal.org/news/2017/09/07/harmers-wins-australian-law-awards/#respondThu, 07 Sep 2017 18:19:46 +0000http://leglobal.org/?p=6629Harmers Workplace Lawyers has been awarded the Lawyers Weekly 2017 Australian Law Awards “Workplace Relations and Employment Team of the Year”.

This award recognises the achievement of excellence and leadership in practice for workplace relations and employment teams. The category is open to all law firms in Australia, both employment practices within multidisciplinary firms and specialist workplace relations law firms. Chairman, Michael Harmer, said the award is a testament to the Firm’s cohesive team approach, the high calibre and commitment of Harmers’ outstanding lawyers and support staff, and the L&E Global alliance, which enables Harmers to participate in cross-border employment law work.

“Harmers is thrilled with this recognition from Lawyers Weekly, the judges and the Australian business community. We extend our sincere gratitude to our clients who enable us to undertake the worthwhile work we do. We have seen significant growth in our corporate advisory practice over the past 12 months, with both complex workplace relations litigation and WHS matters. The firm has also continued to act in many of Australia’s most high profile workplace relations cases” said Mr Harmer.

Harmers was also a finalist in the “Dispute Resolution” and “Boutique Law firm of the Year” categories; and Senior Associate, Amy Zhang, was an individual finalist in the “Senior Associate of the Year” category.

The 17th Annual Lawyers Weekly Australian Law Awards was held at The Star on Friday 1 September 2017 and attended by 700 legal industry professionals.

If you plan to attend in person, the seminar will take place at FWTAs Toronto office at 333 Bay Street, Suite 2500, Toronto. Breakfast will be served starting at 7:30 a.m. followed by the presentation from 8:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m, local time.

You’ve made the difficult decision to terminate an employee’s employment. What’s next? Managing employee terminations can be tricky, as the process is often upsetting for both parties. For the employer, it comes with significant legal and reputational risks. In this upcoming seminar, we will discuss key considerations when preparing for and conducting the termination of an employee’s employment.

]]>http://leglobal.org/events/2017/09/04/fwta-webinarseminar-managing-employee-terminations/feed/0Harmers Workplace Lawyers Sponsors 2017 Ron McCallum Debatehttp://leglobal.org/events/2017/09/04/2017-ron-mccallum-debate/
http://leglobal.org/events/2017/09/04/2017-ron-mccallum-debate/#respondMon, 04 Sep 2017 13:26:00 +0000http://leglobal.org/?p=6601The system is broken. What is the fix?
There is a growing recognition across the community that the workplace relations system is broken. Large scale exploitation, low wage growth and declining levels of unionisation point to the system failing workers. Business, particularly small business, find the system too complicated and cumbersome.

There are growing challenges ahead with the changing nature of work. For example the system is currently unable to deal with new models of work such as the growing ‘gig’ economy.

Join representatives from the union movement, business, academia and the community as we discuss and debate the future of how we regulate work.

The debate will be moderated by former FWA and AIRC President the Honourable Geoffrey Giudice AO, with Emeritus Professor Ron McCallum AO providing his reflections.

In 2017 our esteemed speakers include:

Jo-anne Schofield, National Secretary of United Voice, a union whose members work in some of the lowest paid and insecure jobs;

Stephen Cartwright, Chief Executive Officer of NSW Business Chamber, bringing the voice of business to the discussion; and

Dr Sarah Kaine, Associate Professor at UTS, whose work includes a focus on the transformation of employee relations in the digital economy.

More speakers to follow shortly.

The Debate is on Wednesday 25 October, 4pm – 6pm, Auditorium in UTS Building 8, Level 2, Dr Chau Chak Wing Building, 14-28 Ultimo Road, Ultimo Sydney
To ensure a place please RSVP by 18 October at admin@aierights.com.au or on 03 9647 9111

]]>http://leglobal.org/events/2017/09/04/2017-ron-mccallum-debate/feed/0Pusch Wahlig Legal nominated by JUVE as Employment Law Firm of the Year 2017http://leglobal.org/news/2017/08/25/pusch-wahlig-legal-nominated-by-juve-as-employment-law-firm-of-the-year-2017/
http://leglobal.org/news/2017/08/25/pusch-wahlig-legal-nominated-by-juve-as-employment-law-firm-of-the-year-2017/#respondFri, 25 Aug 2017 17:31:02 +0000http://leglobal.org/?p=6587

Pusch Wahlig Legal was recently nominated by JUVE for “Employment Law Firm of the Year 2017”. JUVE is the leading German legal magazine that awards law firms that exhibit a particularly dynamic and positive development in the past year.

JUVE bases its decision on interviews with more than 20,000 contacts – among them clients, partners and next generation lawyers.

For the 17th year, JUVE honors law firms in 15 different categories for their outstanding work in a particular area of law or in a particular region. The award ceremony will take place on 26 October 2017.

This year, Pusch Wahlig Legal has already won the 2017 Azur Diversity Award for the part-time-models they introduced, the cultural diversity in the firm and the high percentage of women employed. Earlier this year, German magazines FOCUS and Wirtschaftswoche recognised Pusch Wahlig Legal as a Top Law Firm in Employment Law.

Dr. Tobias Pusch on the nomination: “We are very happy to be nominated as law firm of the year 2017 in employment law by JUVE. Our thanks go to our clients and to the Pusch Wahlig Legal team – they have made this recognition possible. We are pleased that the consistent development of our firm manifests itself in being nominated by JUVE for now the fourth time.”

“This year’s Zenith winners are lawyers who have advanced the position of women in the profession and society by leading firms, starting firms, and making ground-breaking contributions to pro bono and charitable organizations.”

Filion Wakely Thorup Angeletti LLP, L&E Global’s member firm in Canada, is pleased to invite you to an upcoming webinar on Wednesday, June 14, 2017 on “The Changing Workplaces Review: What it Means for Employers”.

The Webinar is scheduled from 8:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m., local time in Toronto – Eastern Standard Time (UTC-05:00).

Sweeping changes to Ontario’s employment and labour laws were recommended in the final report of the Changing Workplaces Review, which the Ontario Government released on May 23, 2017. If adopted, the recommendations from the report would result in the most significant reforms to labour and employment law in over 30 years.

Early indications suggest that the Government intends to move ahead with significant reforms. By the time our seminar takes place, we expect to know much more about the Government’s intentions. Senior partners Rob Bayne and Jamie Knight will bring you right up to date with the most current information and our projections as to “what’s next”.

The upcoming seminar will:

-Review the most significant changes recommended in the review;
-Bring you up to date with the most recent developments since the Review’s release
-Identify key legal concerns regarding the implementation of these recommendations; and
-Offer practical insights into how these recommendations might affect employers.

With our clients in mind, and to help them through the labyrinth of the modern workforce with different approaches in different jurisdictions, L&E Global is proud to present our 2017 Global Handbook, which serves as an introduction to the complex issue of employees vs independent contractors, with analysis from 32 key jurisdictions, across 6 continents.

For the 4th year in a row, L&E Global has published its annual global handbook especially for our valued clients. Since we last touched upon the issue of employees vs independent contractors and the consequences of the re-characterisation of a contractor into an employee back in 2014, there has been a universal effort to eliminate “sham” contracts, which seek to hide the true nature of the relationship as an employer and employee agreement.

In recent years, the use of independent contractors has increased significantly. There has also been an increase in the use of fixed-term contracts, temporary commercial agency agreements and labour outsourcing services. This trend is not without its risks. The rise of the on-demand sharing economy (online business transactions) in areas such as carpooling, apartment/home lending, peer-to-peer lending, reselling, co-working and talent-sharing and the enterprises that drive these new workforces, has led to an increase in litigation, with the qualification of the contracts and work agreements as the central issue.

For employers with operations in multiple jurisdictions, successfully entering into a working relationship, whether with an employee or an independent contractor, is a very real challenge and one that impacts every sector of industry, in every region of the world.

Azur highlighted that, “Pusch Wahlig proves that mandate work at the highest level and flexible working time models are compatible. The Berlin law firm has responded to the wishes of its associates and offers them two particularly flexible working time models. This makes the employment law firm a true model, even for larger law firms.”

Upon hearing the news, PWL Partner Dr. Kara Preedy, LL.M., Lic.dr., responded, “Totally surprised that we won against such great competition such as eBay and Telekom. Why? I think because we do mean it seriously – parents should be able to do a great job, work with amazing clients and still be able to pick up their kids from kindergarten. Not always maybe but on a regular and reliable basis. Apparently still not the normal approach among law firms…I am really pleased and proud of my partner colleagues for being so constructive and open-minded about these things – that is the reason I work at Pusch Wahlig.”

Pusch Wahlig Legal’s working time model embodies L&E Global’s commitment to provide innovative services to clients and colleagues alike, as part of our mission to help clients navigate legal and business challenges in a globalised world.

AZURE

In 2011, AZURE launched an international competition recognizing excellence and innovation in, amongst other categories, products and concepts from around the world.

We are pleased to announce that L&E Global has been shortlisted in four major categories in the UK-based Management Partners Forum (MPF) Awards for Management Excellence 2017.

The MPF Awards, associated with The Financial Times and Harvard Business Review, recognise management teams for their achievements in the following key categories: Leadership & Strategy; Operational Excellence; Client Journey; and Responsible Business. L&E Global has been shortlisted for the following categories in 2017:

Best Managed International Network

Summary: For the leadership team of a firm or network with offices in multiple countries that demonstrates how a coherent strategy, inclusive culture, relevant leadership style and effective implementation have helped the business overcome challenges and achieve sustainable, superior returns in its chosen markets and sectors.

Most Innovative Client Service

Summary: For the management team that has worked with its frontline to enhance client service in innovative ways that are original and valuable to clients.

Best Implementation of Systems or Technology

Summary: For creating value through unique innovations.

Best Provision of Know-How

Summary: For the management team that has organised firm know-how in ways that demonstrably engage and support their clients

The gala dinner and awards ceremony will take place in London on Wednesday, 8 March 2017, at the London Marriott, Grosvenor Square.

This recognition from the MPF Awards reflects L&E Global’s commitment to provide employers worldwide with efficient advice from a legal team that thinks ‘outside-the-box’. At L&E Global, we continuously refine our mission and the services we offer to help clients navigate legal and business challenges in a globalised world.

Management Partners Forum is the UK’s preeminent resource for law firm managing partners and firm leaders to help them lead a more profitable, cohesive and sustainable law firm.